London, February 12: The British mother of two toddlers whose bodies were found in the boot of a car appeared before a judge today charged with their murders.
Grieving relatives sat in the public gallery at Lewes Crown Court, southern England, as Fiona Donnison faced charges of murdering three-year-old Harry and two-year-old Elise Donnison.
They were found by officers in separate bags in the boot of a car near the former family home in East Sussex, after Donnison turned up at a local police station on January 27, The Sun reports.
Post-mortem examination results revealed the brother and sister died from asphyxia and had been dead for less than 24 hours when their bodies were found.
Flanked by two security guards, Donnison, 43, sat with her head bowed and only spoke to confirm her name during the three-minute preliminary hearing.
There was no application for bail by defence lawyer Stuart Grace and no plea was indicated on behalf of former financial worker Donnison.
Judge Richard Brown further remanded her to a medium-secure psychiatric unit in West Sussex under the UK’s Mental Health Act.
—Agencies